Tag: europe

The Colors of Rousillon, France via French Californian
Hannah Wilson

One Hour in Roussillon

3 Comments Travel

On my recent trip to Avignon in the south of France, I had the opportunity to spend 1 hour in the charming village of Roussillon nearby – that’s right, just 60 minutes in one of Provence’s most beautiful villages. Thankfully the village itself is tiny, so I was able to see lots of it during my short visit, but of course I could have spent an entire day there.

I took advantage of every single second I had in Roussillon, running around with hearts in my eyes at every turn. Everything I saw was so beautiful, so charming, so richly colorful! I flitted from here to there like a hummingbird, trying to get as many pictures as possible while still taking it all in.

The reason I had so little time in Roussillon was because my trip to Avignon only lasted 48 hours, which  meant the only way I could see some of the beautiful sites outside the city was by booking a tour. I went with a half-day minivan tour that took me to three different sites in the Luberon region of Provence: the Lavender Museum, Roussillon, and Gordes.

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Hannah Wilson

On Prague and Travel Fatigue

2 Comments Travel

Prague was beautiful and special, but I realized something while I was there. I’ve lost my sense of wonder when it comes to travel, or at least travel in Europe.

Voyaging outside of the United States used to be this incredible thing, this amazing opportunity that was almost too fantastic to believe. I remember on my first few international trips having intense butterflies in my stomach and actually squealing audibly while reading guide books and planning out my adventures. I remember watching Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe and sighing dreamily as she visited Copenhagen or Paris or Vienna. Visiting these places was like a dream come true.

Now, however, that feeling has dwindled, and I noticed this conspicuous lack of excitement on my recent trip to Prague.

Of course Prague was beautiful and special and interesting. But out of the 4.5 days we were there, I only took out my camera a handful of times and I found myself tiring very quickly. The streets were pretty, but I’ve seen similar streets before. The church architecture was lovely but I’ve seen hundreds of others like them. I’m not sure if it’s due to the fact that I’m SO mentally ready to move back to California to be closer to my family, friends and everything familiar, but my European travel high has ended.

I probably sound ungrateful to those of you who yearn to explore Europe, but I think just like everything else we use to occupy our time, just like every other activity, after a certain amount of time, it looses its initial lustre. Plus, traveling is simply physically exhausting.

I think it’s time to put Europe on pause for a while. After I leave I think I’ll turn my focus towards other parts of the world, Maybe some more “exotic” locations like Bali, Japan, South Korea, South America… Europe is such a tiny part of the world, there’s so much more left to discover.

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Exploring Heidelberg, Germany - by French Californian
Hannah Wilson

Exploring Heidelberg, Germany

2 Comments Travel

 

Last year, my friend Katie and I took a 5-day jaunt through Germany’s Black Forest region, visiting three towns: Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Tübingen. Here is an account of what we did while in Heidelberg.

Heidelberg is famous for its charming Old Town, dense forest and imposing red-toned castle. Much like Freiburg, exploring Heidelberg was like walking straight into a fairy tale or Romantic painting. Most of the little streets in the Old Town led straight to a wall of trees of the famous Black Forest, a region which inspired some of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.

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Hannah Wilson

Bringing Paris to my Hometown Coffee Shop

2 Comments Art, Diary

 

Just like most humans, I enjoy coffee, and just like tons of people my age, I LOVE coffee shops. A coffee shop is almost like a second home; a place where you go to spend hours studying or catching up with friends. We all have our favorite haunts, and for me, that was Sagebrush Café. It was the first coffee shop I ever visited before finding other favorites in other cities. Sagebrush is my coffee home.

I always had it in the back of my mind that I would love to show my photographs at Sagebrush – they’ve been featuring the work of local artists on their walls pretty much since they opened 7 years ago, and I’ve been interested in photography since high school. They’re part of a new culture that has arisen in the Antelope Valley, a refreshing and uplifting change that was much-needed in this sprawling desert suburb. Within the last few years, an art museum and community of local creatives has sprung up. The Antelope Valley is the kind of place that every high school kid wants to escape, to run away from the moment graduation is over. I was one of those kids, but I find myself drawn back not only because of my family who still live there, but also because of establishments like Sagebrush Café.

When they approached me, asking if I’d like to show some of my travel photographs, I immediately said yes.

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Hannah Wilson

Travel Diary: Positano, Italy

2 Comments Travel

Positano has a little bit of everything (beautiful views, cute town, good food and interesting culture), but many other oceanside towns have these things. I think how Positano differs is that it somehow encapsulates “opposites” like ruggedness and elegance, romance and adventure. You can have the most romantic honeymoon here with all the fancy restaurants and literally breathtaking views, but you can also trek up steep mountains to the Path of the Gods, take boats to hidden beaches, and adventure to other towns along the coast. It’s the perfect amalgamation of vacation elements.

Part of the aforementioned “adventure” of traveling to Positano, are the busses. Since there is so little flat land, everything is built vertically into the mountainside, and all roads are twisty and perched on the edge of sheer cliffs – not for those with extreme fear of heights! The main coastal highway was one thing, but it got even more exciting once we got on the local bus to the tiny village of Nocelle, where our Bed & Breakfast, Villa la Quercia, was located. After having already taken two separate busses from Naples airport, we were bemused to find that only one single bus ran up and down the mountain road, arriving for pickup about once per hour! I’ve never experienced anything like the driving skills of that bus driver – SERIOUS talent! Since the road was extremely windy and barely wide enough for one large car, you can imagine the kind of traffic jams and puzzles that ensued. Lots of stopping, backing up, and edging uncomfortably close to the cliff edges every time another car came down the mountain in the opposite direction.

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Hannah Wilson

Travel Diary: Freiburg, Germany

5 Comments Travel

My friend Katie and I took a 5-day jaunt through Germany’s Black Forest region, visiting three towns: Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Tübingen. Here is an account of what we did while in Freiburg. Check back later for the other towns! 

After a few hours on the train with some pretty countryside views flashing by the window, we arrived in Freiburg. It took us a little while to get our bearings and find our accommodations for the night, which were slightly removed from the city center. I won’t bother recommending the airbnb we stayed at, since in my opinion, it was lacking. There was no wifi (GASP) and when we brought groceries home that evening to make dinner, we discovered the kitchen wasnt even equipped with a pot to boil our pasta in! After some nervous debating and creative thinking, we improvised and used the electric kettle instead… and it worked out perfectly! So take this as a lesson: if you need to cook pasta, but you don’t have a stove or a pot – just shove it into the electric kettle. ;)

But let’s backtrack to earlier that day…

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